Swine flu: toddler in United States becomes first death outside Mexico

A 23-month-old child has died of swine flu in Texas, in the United States, the
first death outside Mexico caused by the virus.

A US government official confirmed that the toddler died from the H1N1 strain.

The death was disclosed as it was revealed that three more people in Britain are suffering from swine flu - a 12-year-old girl from Torbay and two adults, from London and Birmingham.

Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, told the Commons at Prime Minister's Questions, that they were suffering from "mild symptoms".

Meanwhile, the results of tests on 23 other British people showing symptoms of the flu were being awaited, and holidaymakers arriving home from Mexico described the panic from they had fled.

The results of the swine flu tests on 23 people in Scotland are expected later on Wednesday. A honeymooning couple from Falkirk who had recently returned from Mexico, have been confirmed as the country's first cases.

Dozens of holidaymakers returning from Mexico, where the disease has killed about 160 people, continue to be tested for swine flu, with potential cases in Scotland, Wales, Wiltshire, Derbyshire and Essex.

Other tourists have spoken of their rush to leave the country. Karen Whitehouse, 22, and her boyfriend Alex Henney, 31, were so worried about contracting swine flu that they paid £1,300 each for a flight back from Mexico City to Heathrow, landing yesterday afternoon having cut short their two-week holiday after just five days.

Mr Hennney, a stockbroker from Clapham, said: "The people in Mexico were panic stricken. There was a woman whose neighbour had died of swine flu on the news, she was terrified but no doctor would go to see her and got no medicine. People were getting sick but ambulance crews were too terrified to take them to hospital."

There are unconfirmed reports that three Mexican doctors have died after treating infected patients. More than 80 cases have been confirmed in other countries.

Gordon Brown has been briefed on the latest developments by the Chief Medical Officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, and the Health Secretary, Alan Johnson.

Mr Johnson was chairing a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee late on Wednesday morning, a Downing Street spokesman said.

Mr Brown has said Britain is "among the best prepared countries in the world" to deal with the outbreak. "We have been preparing for this kind of scenario for many years," he said.

The Department of Health has said that leaflets explaining how to prevent the spread of swine flu will be sent out next week to the country's 25 million households.

More than 32 million protective face masks are also being ordered by the Department, despite concerns the masks do little to prevent the spread of flu among the general public.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "We are urgently looking into how we can increase our current stockpiles of facemasks for healthcare workers who would come into close contact with symptomatic individuals during an influenza pandemic."

In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, health minister, said that Iain and Dawn Haskin, the honeymooning couple, are continuing to improve but remain in hospital. Nine of the 22 people they have been in close contact with since returning home from Mexico are showing symptoms and have been tested.

Prof John Oxford, a virologist from Barts and the London School of Medicine, said that the virus could mutate in order to elude anti-viral drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza.

"There's a possibility always with a virus like influenza that it's a chameleon - that it changes if you look at it," Prof Oxford told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme. "It could mutate its way out."

However, he said he believed that Britain had the capacity to create flu vaccines quickly and on a large scale.

Those who think they may be suffering from swine flu are advised to stay in their home and away from anyone who they might infect.

Potential sufferers have been told to ring NHS Direct or check their symptoms on the online "flu symptom checker" to see if there is a chance they might have the virus.

A careful list of criteria has been drawn up by the Department of Health and is available on its website.

Of interest, is anyone who has been to Mexico or San Antonio, Texas, San Diego, Imperial County or New York City in America in the last seven days.

Also of concern, is anyone who has pain in or across their chest, pain in their shoulder, is short of breath, has swelling around the lips, mouth or tongue or has lips, fingernails or toenails which are changing colour.

Anyone with such symptoms is urged to call 999 immediately and asked not to leave their homes.

The anti-virals Tamiflu or Relenza will be prescribed over the phone either via NHS Direct or from a GP.

If someone who is not infected is able to collect your prescription for you, they will be asked to go and collect it from the nearest pharmacy and post it through your letter box.

If there is no one suitable to carry out such a task, the prescription will be couriered round to your address and, again, posted through the letter box.

The H1N1 virus (swine flu) is not thought to be nearly as dangerous as the H5N1 strain (bird flu) and if caught early on should cause little more discomfort than the normal flu symptoms.

Anyone who feels flu-like symptoms and may have been in contact with someone who has been to one of the infected areas, is also advised to stay at home, drink plenty of water and take paracetamol.

To try and avoid the spread, people are asked to cover their mouths when coughing, discard of tissues promptly and wash their hands frequently.

Anyone concerned about swine flu and its potential symptoms should contact their GP or NHS Direct on 0845 4647.